If you can call something that hasn’t even hit the quarter century mark a classic, Aladdin fits the bill.

Introduced in theaters at Thanksgiving in 1992, the Robin Williams movie was Disney’s 31st feature length animated flick, and one that rode a magic carpet into the history books, between Academy Awards, Golden Globes and a whole lot more.

This month the film is being re-released in a special Diamond edition Blu-Ray, and after a re-watch (in which I bawled my eyes out), I thought it appropriate to round up some Aladdin trivia you probably never knew. [Read more…]

By now we all know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but what about judging a movie by its title? Big Hero 6 (which hits shelves on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 24) sounds like a movie about a team of superheroes. Technically, it is. Based on a lesser known Marvel series, the film introduces us to a group of unlikely crime fighters in Japan, led by a teenaged boy named Hiro and his robot, Baymax.

But — spoiler alert — there’s very little evidence of this crime fighting group for the better half of the film’s beginning because Big Hero 6 is not really a superhero action movie at all. It’s the story of a young boy grieving the death of someone he loves and a cuddly robot (yes, you read that right — this guy is designed with marshmallow like puff around his mechanical core specifically to put people at ease) who helps him navigate the path to closure.

The one thing people always remember about 101 Dalmatians? Not the dogs. Not their owners. It’s Cruella De Vil — arguably one of the 10 best movie villains of all time. But with Dalmatians finally out on Blu-Ray in its diamond edition this week, it seems it’s time to remind America there’s a lot more than to this classic than a fur fiend with a skunk stripe. Behold, five coolest things about 101 Dalmatians that every fan should know (sorry, it’s not 101, but we tried): [Read more…]

Yes, this is the problem. Gravity Falls — which features the voice of the hilarious Kristen Schaal — might be the best kids show on television at the moment, but even Disney’s DVD release makes it pretty clear it’s getting the hype it should. The entertainment giant has released a collection of “Six Strange Tales,” just in time for Halloween. Six tales. Out of two seasons? Come on, Disney! This show deserves better!

Not that the six tales aren’t great; I’m not going to look this gift horse in the mouth (and I do mean a gift horse — Disney sent me a review copy of the DVD … blogger disclaimer and all that jazz). It’s better than nothing, and it’s a sign that maybe the network is

If you’re a diehard of the show, you already know it follows 12-year-old twins Mabel and Dipper who use their summer vacation (yes, as the other great Disney Channel show Phineas & Ferb has taught us, all of the ultimate things happen on summer vacay) to visit their Grunkle (great uncle) Stan in Gravity Falls, Oregon.

At first I gave it a wide berth because the animation was markedly similar to that of Fish Hooks — a show I can’t stand. Turns out Gravity Falls’ creator was a writer on Fish Hooks.

But where Hooks is just plain annoying, Falls is quirky. It’s smart. And it plays against stereotypes.

The episodes are driven by mysteries, mixing the dynamics of family vacations with every kid’s taste for adventure and some supernatural shenanigans. Think Scooby Doo meets Harry and the Hendersons. And each begins with a word game in the opening credits which kids can decode with clues given at the end. It may be TV, but it’s not melting their brains.

Oh, and a sure way to the heart of the mother of a daughter? Mabel is not the sidekick. She’s every bit as important to the storyline as brother Dipper. Which is only made cooler by the fact that Kristen Schaal pretty much kicks ass.

So why isn’t everybody watching?

Come on, folks, we want season one to hit DVD, so please, run out and buy the six strange tales. Let Disney know this really is the best show on kids TV!

By now, I’ve come to accept that my family is a little on the weird side. I consider it one of our finer points. But mine can’t be the only family that rates a movie’s worth by whether it gives us quotes that will be repeated ad infinitum, can we?

It’s not a conscious thing. In fact, I didn’t realize it until I caught my daughter walking around asking “Who invited the furry peanut?”

It’s from The Lorax, which, by the way, comes out on DVD and Blu-Ray today. I’d gotten a copy from the studios because I’m a blogger, and she watched the movie with her babysitter last week while I got work done … and before I knew it, she had a flurry of new comments to utter at random moments before bursting into a fit of giggles.

I should have known it would start a spurt of quoting.Thought it’s based on the Dr. Seuss classic, The Lorax was made by the same people who made Despicable Me, a family favorite that … wait for it … added the phrase “It’s so fuzzy I’m gonna die” to our family vernacular.

She’s also taken to informing me, “I’ll go right up your nose.”

Yes, I’d say it’s a hit.

How do you rate movies in your house? What’s your favorite movie quote?

Check out the Lorax activity sheets I snagged for the kid at BlogHer ’12 — you can print your own:

Have you “liked” Inside Out Motherhood on Facebook yet?

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of the Lorax on DVD to facilitate this review. I was not otherwise compensated, and all comments in this blog post are my own personal opinion.

So the kid got The Perry Files DVD for her birthday. See her there making an insanely over the top face? You can tell what she thinks of it. I, on the other hand, think I may have a crush on Perry the Platypus. He’s quiet. He’s cute. And he can rid the world of evil in less time than it takes for his owners to realize he’s missing.

And if you do not know who Perry is, perhaps you should stop reading this blog post right now. Wait! No! Come back! You are exactly the person who needs to be reading this.

I think I mentioned, Perry is a platypus. A butt-kicking, evil-thwarting, always comes-home-for-dinner platypus who gets second (or maybe it’s third) billing on the Disney Channel’s Phineas & Ferb. But people! Perry does not talk. Which means the possibilities of the little aquamarine hero turning into an obnoxious Spongebob-type are about a million to one!

I dare say he is the most perfect cartoon creation of this generation.

And as recently as a few months ago, I was plunking down $40-some smackeroos on my new Perry sweatshirt only to have a store clerk refer to him as a “duck.”

A duck? People? Get with it. This platypus is a bad mama jama. And yeah, so his owners are pretty cool kids who spend their 104 days of summer vacation (come on, that has to be ringing some bells, right, you’ve heard the song) actually doing something instead of sitting on their collective tushies, Perry is where it’s at.

Which is why I’m writing a blog post hawking a DVD right now. To cover all my blogger bases, I’ll be honest — I managed to get a freebie from Disney of the Perry Files.

But as I mentioned before, the kid already wanted it … and I would hope readers on this site know I don’t blow up something unless I’m totally 100 percent nuts for it.

And I think I may be. I have a Perry sweatshirt. I have a Perry iPhone cover. I may or may not have borrowed some of the Perry stickers from inside the Perry Files DVD. And oh crap, I think I’ll just let Heinz Doofenshmirtz take it away:

Got it stuck in your head? You’ll be glad to know the whole thing is on the DVD. So go get platypized. I can’t be the only weirdo crushing on an aquatic mammal who isn’t actually real.

There are movies your kid begs you to go see. Then there are the movies you drag the kid to. I’m not sure which category Gnomeo & Juliet falls into, to be honest.

Confession time. I’m a gnome-whore. The creepy little buggers crack me up. I blame Gilmore Girls, specifically the episode when “Pierpont,” the gnome in Babette’s (Sally Struthers) garden goes missing. When the kid came out of the womb with that pointy head that comes from an, ahem, natural birth, and they plunked a cute lil’ pink hat on her, she looked JUST like a gnome. Hubs named her Pierpont. Hey, it was all outta love!

Then there’s the other bit. Love Elton John. LOVE Elton John. Call me a dork and a half, but the highlight of my summer is knowing the Rocket Man is coming to my backyard (ahem Internet-reading burglars, the sitter will be here with the kid and the dog is totes scary — pick another house . . . you’ll be safer).

So, you take gnomes. Add Elton John. And make a kids movie? I was sooooo there. And yeah, the hubs fell asleep, but the 5-year-old and I were in heaven.

The story’s pretty basic — boy meets girl. Boy loves girl. Boy and girl turn out to be mortal enemies. Think Shakespeare with a Disney ending. I hated the real play, but this one was not just kid-friendly but Elton John-freak friendly. And the Blu-Ray version (which yeah, they sent me for free, gotta put it out there . . . even though I paid for my tix in the theater) is full of all sorts of goodies that take a gnome-addict like me to the highest heights (wait, that’s from another Disney movie, isn’t it?).

Now for the good news. It’s a crazy cute flick. And you can have one too!! The folks at Touchstone have agreed to give TWO Inside Out readers their own Blu-Ray/DVD combo of Gnomeo & Juliet. But wait, there’s more! You get a totally adorbs Juliet gnome too . . . consider it my way of spreading the gnome army into gardens far, far away. Check this cutie out:

Squeeeeeee. So, oh yeah, entries. Cause I know the gnome love is out there (go on, admit it!!). Leave a comment with your favorite Elton John song (yeah, I’m going there . . . you have to pick just one!!).

Want extra entries? Of course you do. Soooo, you can:

1. Become a Facebook fan of Inside Out Motherhood, and leave a comment telling me (and drop by to leave me a comment on there too if you want — I’m a glutton for looooove). 2. Follow me on Twitter@jeannesager and tweet this giveaway — you MUST have an actual link to the giveaway in the tweet, or it doesn’t count. Leave a link to your Tweet in the comments below.3. Grab my purty new button (you’ll see it at left), post it on your blog, then leave me a link in comments so I can come visit you and say hi!

I think that’s it. Oh yeah — make sure I have some way to contact you if you’re the winner. If you’re a blogger and have a contact on your blog, that’ll do so you don’t have to put your email out there for the world to see. But if not, how about a Twitter handle, something, so I can reach out. Or you can check back. The contest will end June 3.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the movie to facilitate my review of its content. I wasn’t otherwise paid for this review, and all opinions expressed are my own.

You love Tina Fey for the gut-busting (and totally under-rated) funniness that is 30 Rock. Our kids love her for being their favorite pirate . . . argh!

Tina’s Sesame Street debut hit stores in DVD form this week, and she’s carried off one of my favorite celeb on the street guest spots I’ve seen in my three years of watching. With all of their other favorite Sesame Street characters (and a guest spot by NBC’s Brian Williams that made me chuckle), it’s on Amazon now.

It was bound to happen some day. Cute, loveable and very red Elmo was going to lose his red fur.

Who knew it would come at the hands of equally cute and kind of ditzy fairy Abby Cadabby? Elmo’s gone green – literally – in his new DVD, and Babble got a sneak-peek at the all new Elmo and how to throw together a tele-thon Sesame Street style.

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Disclaimer

I realized I had to add one of these because people let their minds run away with them sometimes. Wait, where was I?

The reviews I put up on this site are NOT paid for by any company. They come from my little ol' head. Some of the products I found myself - on the 'net, at the store, or from other moms. Some were sent my way by publicists. Usually they didn't fit the mold of another project I was working on, but I thought they were so cool I couldn't help sharing!

As for what happens to the products I didn't care for - you'll never know! Because I won't write about them on here. So if you see it, I liked it. 'Nuff said!